Wednesday, March 28, 2012

AHHHHHHHHH!!!! I am so excited! Okay, this is what I am starting with today:

Investigator Report: (5 new investigators this week)

S: We didn't get to see him this week because he was out of town. He came to church yesterday. Hopefully he has been reading the Book of Mormon. We hope to see him and have a disucssion this week.

E: Taught Lesson 3. Set to be baptized on April 14.

C, C, C: Taught Lesson 3. Mom and Dad have been experiencing some marital problems lately and Mom has temporarily separated from Dad. It has been very sad. They said they don't want the kids and their baptism to be affected by their marital struggles and so the kids are still set to be baptized on April 7.

A: Taught Lesson 2. He really enjoyed it. He is awesome.

J: Didn't get to see him this week because he had work. He says he has been reading the Book of Mormon EVERY day and loves it.

J, A, N: They all went to church this week! (N went to a different ward with one of his friends though). We taught Lesson 3. Their fellowshipper friend, T R, is awesome. I asked her to bear her testimony at the end. The Spirit was so strong and she starting crying because she was so happy this family is investigating. I invited them to baptism at the end and they are working towards being baptized on April 21.

Now for our new investigators:

We had to split up last night and each teach our new investigators without one another. They had both been set up for the same time, so we had to split up.

J and A: They are relatives of a family in our ward, the Es. Brother E requested that I be the one to teach them. We helped them with a move weeks ago. Taught Lesson 1. A was very receptive and J was listening. I think they will take a little bit of time, but they will definitely come into the Church eventually.

K, A, and RJ: Elder C taught this lesson. I heard it went great. All three of them are set for baptism on April 28.

...So...With that being said: We have 10 investigators set with a baptism date. And, a baptism service planned for every weekend in April. I AM SO EXCITED!!!! :) :) :)

Small World Stories:

1) Brother M went to school with Quincey and was in his grade. He said, "Quincey is the man!"

2) While at the E's last night to teach dinner, Brother E's Mom came. We got to talking and she said to me, "Do you know Mahlon?" I was like, "OF COURSE I DO! THAT'S MY GRANDPA!" She says that they are good friends and she was just up in Logandale speaking at the Women's Conference, and Grandma went up to her and took her back to their home so they could all visit for a little while. So awesome!

3) We went to the Alta Vista Ward Primary Talent Show this last Friday. This 10 year old kid got on stage and started dancing to some Pop song. I started thinking, "This song sounds really familiar." He was dancing to one of D's songs. I've been listening to the song for years but I guess somewhere it's been released.

Food Report:

Monday: Chicken Pot Pie

Tuesday: Chimichangas

Wednesday: Korean BBQ (Bolgogi and Kimchi and all that good stuff!)

Thursday: Cheeseburgers

Friday: Hot Dogs (Ward Talent Show)

Saturday: Raviolli

Sunday: BBQ Pork and Chicken

Oh, I went on Splits Friday with Elder P. We stayed in my area. It was a good day.

Spiritual Thought:

In Preach My Gospel it says that the Book of Mormon, combined with the Spirit, is the most powerful resource in conversion. 2 Nephi 32:3 says, "...feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do." Then, right after that, Nephi tells us, "...if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do," (2 Nephi 32:5). I love when I can find Preach My Gospel quotes reinforced through the scriptures. When we read the Book of Mormon, and with the Spirit, we will be shown and taught all things that we should do. With that new knowledge, we can facilitate and further press on in our own personal conversion.

Wow...I am really tired. I don't even feel like typing. If I don't say much in this e-mail...Just know that it is because I am tired.

Investigator Report:

S : lHad dinner with him on Monday. He's doing good. He started reading the Book of Mormon Sunday night. We read 1 Nephi 1 with him as our lesson to continue with his reading. Unfortunately he is out of town for a bit so he didn't get to come to church or meet again last week. Hopefully he will be home soon. He said he will keep reading the Book of Mormon while he is traveling. I hope he does!

E: Taught Lesson 2. Doing great. Set to be baptized on April 14.

C, C, K: They were gone last week, but we get to teach them part of Lesson 3 tonight. They are still set to be baptized on April 7.

J, A, N: Taught Lesson 2. N is so awesome. He is only 11 but knew a lot of the Adam and Eve story and he even knew a little bit about the Kingdoms of Glory because his member friend told him about it before. A was the only one to come to church. She said she had fun, so I hope she keeps coming and that they all come this week.

John: He was at the lesson with the Es (J, A, N). He is so awesome. He got so excited about the Plan of Salvation. I was wrapping up and giving my closing testimony and I could tell that he wanted to say something so I looked at him and he said, "Can I say something?" He said, said that he really liked the Plan of Salvation especially the part about the Spirit World because it makes so much sense that God would give everyone the opportunity to hear Christ's gospel. It was so cool to hear him get so excited. Then, that night, John texted saying, "It was really good to see you guys today. I will pray for you and your travels as well. You two are really moving teachers. :)" It was so great to hear that. Then, I texted back saying that if he had any questions, just to ask. He replied saying that he did have a question and asked, "How do I repent?" Isn't that awesome! What 14 year old is thinking about repentance? It made me so happy to hear!

A: We officially started teaching A this week. He is great. The first lesson went really well and he had a lot of good questions. He went to the Mormon Prom/Formal this last weekend with a member and had a great time, too.

J: He is 8 years old but we are teaching him the discussions because the family he lives with is less-active. We are preparing him to be baptized.

Small World Stories:

1) So, Uncle Arthur and Aunt Martha used to be in the Ward before the boundaries were re-organized. That being said, you can pretty much just assume everyone in the ward knows them because they do. Too many people and names to write down every week.

2) We had dinner with the B's on Saturday evening. They invited two other families from two other stakes as well. Well, it turns out I am distantly related to the Bs haha. Grandpa's Mom is a Reid (right?). And Brother Bs Mom is a Reid, and it's the same Reid family. Brother Bishop (his friend that was there) is in Todd's ward. Brother L (his other friend that was there) used to be in Young Men's Leadership with Jeff. So funny to make all those different family connections in one place.

Oh, I went on splits with one of the Spanish speaking missionaries in my district this last week. That was an adventure. It was fun. We taught a lesson and one of the kids said to me, "You look like Justin Bieber!!" Obviously he is confused because clearly I look nothing like Justin Bieber haha.

Spiritual Thought:

I always learn something new while doing the New Missionary 12 Week Training Program. In Preach My Gospel, it states that we should invite people to repent in every lesson. I started to think, "What does that mean?" I realized that repentance means "a change of mind," and it is a "turning of the heart and will to God," ("Repentance," Bible Dictionary). Then, I realized that every commitment invitation we extend to investigators is an invitation to change: "Will you go to church?" "Will you pray?" "Will you read the Book of Mormon?" "Will you be baptized?" All of these questions are a personal invite for the investigator to change his or her thoughts, actions, and beliefs to align with God's. That is repentance. We should all continually be inviting people to repent.

Well...I love you all so much! Thank you for the mail and the support and prayers!

Saturday, March 3, 2012

1) RJ: His Mom pretty much dropped us. She cancelled again and said, "I'll let you know when we are ready to meet again."

2) DaLynn: She is skeptical about baptism. What 9 year old is skeptical about baptism?! Anyway, I think she is warming up to the idea. We just need to get her at church. We taught her the Plan of Salvation this week.

3) Cecy: She texted and dropped us this week.

4) Sherryl: She dropped us this week.

5) Armondo: We taught him twice this week. We might drop him soon. He keeps saying he will never have faith and counter-argues everything we say. We are afraid of bringing any members by because he can easily put doubt into someone's head. But, not missionaries! We just stand firm!

6) Stephanie: Didn't get to see her this last week. Hopefully this week we will.

7) Domanic: A 18/19 year old girl that we found while tracting. We stopped by just to see how she was doing, and right then and there she was ready to be taught. It was so awesome. We had Lesson 1 with her and it went great. Everything made sense to her and she wants to learn more. The only problem is that she works two jobs and goes to school full time at UNLV. Hopefully we will be able to see her soon. Guess what! She is studying to become a SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER! How awesome! Coincidence? I think not! I love her!

Food Report:

Monday: Cheeseburgers

Tuesday: Shredded Beef Burrito Bowl

Wednesday: Fiesta Lime Chicken

Thursday: Carne Asade Fries

Friday: Chicken Mint Curry

Saturday: Tacos

Sunday: Beef Stew

Funny Stories:

1) We went to go visit a potential investigator. Her name is Alma. We had been having a rough day and as we locked our bikes up outside her house, Elder P said, "And what makes you think she is even going to be home?" I looked at her house and saw her walking around in her garage. I pointed and said, "Uhh...The fact that she just walked into her garage." It was so funny.

2) I just found out that Carrot Top (the comedian) lives next door to us. And Nicholas Cage has a house right next door to the Y family in our ward. Maybe we can teach them the discussions.

3) Mitt Romney went to the sisters in my district's ward this last week!

Weekly Summary:

Monday: P-Day!

Tuesday: District Meeting. Since an Assistant to the President came to my meeting the week before this last week, I thought I wouldn't see leadership in my district meeting for a while. NOPE! The Mission President's wife, Sister Black, came to my district meeting. She is so awesome though. I love her so much. It went well. We did some coloring, so it was fun. Then, we helped to move a family in another ward. Taught Kamal about the Priesthood.

Wednesday: Made visits and tracted. We were DETERMINED to get 3 lessons every day this week (we made this resolution on Wednesday). Did we get 3? Nope. We got one with DaLynn. Actually, DaLynn didn't even join us so it was just a less-active lesson with DaLynn's Mom, Jaime.

Thursday: Determined to get 3 lessons! Did we? Nope. Got one with Armondo.

Friday: Determined to get 3 lessons! Did we? YES!!!!!! We taught Armondo about Faith. We taught Domanic Lesson 1. And, I was so determined to teach another lesson that I saw some kids playing basketball, went over to them, told them to sit down, and taught them about faith and read from Alma 32.

Saturday: Helped with a move with some members in our ward. A part-member family. The lady is from Guandong (in China...Where we are from). Taught DaLynn about the Plan of Salvation.

Sunday: Church was good. Taught a less-active lesson.

...Overall lessons for the week: 8. Hopefully this week will be better.

Small World Stories:

1) Pretty much everyone knows Grandma and Grandpa.

2) Guess who the Stake President here in Lakes Stake was before the current Stake President! President Todd L! He called the current bishop in the ward I am serving in, Bishop E.

Spiritual Thought:

It has been a rough couple of weeks as far as the work goes. We have been working so hard but have not seen much success in the amount of lessons we teach, the number of new investigators, our investigators progressing, or finding anyone who is interesting in learning more. It can be discouraging at times. I just have to remind myself of what Marvin J. Ashton has said: "Shun discouragement. One of Satan’s most powerful tools is discouragement. Whisperings of “you can’t do it,” “you’re no good,” “it’s too late,” “what’s the use?” or “things are hopeless” are tools of destruction," ("While They Are Waiting," 1988). That is one of the great things my mission has taught me. I have really been learning how to completely rely on the Lord. I know that if I continue to be faithful, work hard, be diligent and obedient, and be patient, I know the Lord will bless the missionary work in this area. Joseph Smith said, "...we trust in the Lord, and leave the event with Him to govern His own wise providence," ("Scriptural Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith"). So, do what you know to be right. Do what you know to be true. And, the Lord will take care of the rest.